Daughter of the late billionaire Alan Bond and armed with a Harvard MBA, Jody Fewster could have done almost anything – but she chose to make her mark in real estate.
In doing so, she’s built one of Perth’s most formidable property businesses while reshaping the way agents think about sales, teams, and resilience.
Jody grew up with a famous surname and a keen awareness that expectations would follow her.
“I honestly did think real estate would be just a stepping stone,” she says. “Because it’s so flexible… well, if you’re an A-type personality, all that means is that you can actually work seven days a week or as many hours as you like. And if that’s a turn-on to you, well, then it’s a great industry for you.”
As it turns out, she is very much an A-type personality.
Her career trajectory has been far from ordinary. After earning a Bachelor of Commerce with First Class Honours in Marketing from the University of Western Australia, Jody worked in corporate roles for a couple of years before heading to Boston for her MBA at Harvard Business School.
Returning to Australia during the recession of 1992, she found the local job market unwelcoming and moved to Sydney, where she worked at Telstra on major national projects.
From there, Jody co-founded a management consulting firm specialising in call centres, advising top-tier banks and Australian corporates.
“We had 25 staff, million-dollar connections with the big banks… and started from zero clients,” she recalls. Four years later, the firm was sold to a US NASDAQ-listed company, proof of her business acumen and drive.
Yet it was a personal move back to Perth in 2000 that would pivot her life towards property.
“My husband and I bought, renovated, and sold homes in Mosman Park and Peppermint Grove,” she explains.
“Then the GFC hit, and flipping wasn’t quite as fun when the market’s going backwards at a rate of knots.”
Jody’s corporate experience gave her a unique advantage when she first stepped into real estate. Armed with a sharp understanding of business and strategy, she quickly learned how to navigate Perth’s property market.
“Of course, I did know pricing of properties because that’s what we’d been doing,” she says.
In her first professional real estate role she honed her negotiation skills during one of Perth’s most challenging markets.
“There were 17,000 properties on the market… I spent my entire time talking to sellers about loss minimisation and how to catch a falling knife. It’s heartbreaking, but it really hones your negotiation skills and having hard conversations.”
After briefly stepping away from the industry, (“I actually then retired from the industry because I didn’t really like the people I’d met in the industry; I didn’t think they had the same level of professionalism or integrity that I was used to from the corporate world”), Jody was persuaded to return by a colleague who knocked on her door every day for six weeks.
A fresh start
In 2018, Jody teamed up with Deborah Brady to co-found her current business at Ray White Cottesloe | Mosman Park. Together, they assembled a strong team and put structures in place that let them focus on what they do best – selling and managing property.
“I’ve created an organisation around me… my background is how to build, run, and structure organisations. That allows me to do the things I love most, listing and selling,” Jody says.
Since launching the office, Jody has established herself at the forefront of Perth’s fiercely competitive property market.
“The biggest challenge is to get out there and list… make enough phone calls, do enough appraisals to actually get a listing. The market is incredibly tight. That’s why having a huge organisation behind me, with size, scale, and technological know-how, is invaluable.”
She is equally passionate about mentoring her team and the next generation of real estate talent.
“I have an incredible head of property management, a head of sales, a CFO… I’ve created the roles and put amazing people in place so I can focus on what I love most,” she says.
Jody’s advice for anyone considering a career in real estate is blunt and practical: “Align yourself with someone whose values make you feel comfortable every day you come to work. If you’re not valued, get out and move.”
From Harvard boardrooms to the homes of Perth’s Western Suburbs, Jody has built a career on her own terms. And so, for a new generation of talent thinking about entering the property industry, she leaves no doubt why real estate can be so compelling.
“It is one of the few industries where you can make a hell of a lot of money at a very early age.”
